“I’m happy to be back in Belgium for the first time since our teambuilding in Durbuy and to discover the opening weekend. I’ll thus benefit from a first experience with the cobbles and the Flemish roads before the Monuments. This weekend is important for my confidence and that of the team. We want to show ourselves with the aim of achieving a good result and starting our classics campaign in a good way.” “I trained hard the past couple of weeks on altitude at home in Asmara and in company of Rein Taaramäe and my brother Mewael. Physically I feel quite good. My mindset is also optimal, this aspect is equally important in the pure battle of the classics. My feeling was really good during the recon of Omloop het Nieuwsblad on Thursday. I appreciated being back on the cobbles for the first time since Binche-Chimay-Binche and I feel I always adapt better to the wet weather conditions in Belgium.”
Biniam Girmay Tweet
"I'm pleased with the our preparation for the Belgian opening weekend. For the second year running, we organised recons for the Flemish classics from in November. And last week, our riders put in some extra miles after the stages of the Tour of the Algarve. All indications show that they're progressing towards their peak form, especially the riders with around ten days of racing under their belts." "Biniam Girmay returns in competition after a long training block in Eritrea, and generally responds well after a period at altitude. For his debut in the Belgian opening weekend he will be our leader, surrounded by our other protected riders Hugo Page, Laurenz Rex and Mike Teunissen. They can rely on the support of Dries De Pooter, Adrien Petit, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, Vito Braet and Madis Mihkels. With Gerben Thijssen, we have an extra card to play on Sunday in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, where we have to wait and see how the race develops to make our strategical decisions for the final. Laurenz Rex will then focus on Le Samyn." "Our team is well-balanced and competitive, with enough strength to be in the mix for the top results. It will be important to use that strength at decisive moments and combine it with fighting spirit and team spirit. I will stress the importance of a bit of luck and staying sharp all race, the factors we were missing last season. In any case, we've already made a very good start to the season, which brings us a lot of confidence and conviction. This allows us to line up for the races with the will to perform, and not with a mindset dominated by the pressure to achieve results."
Aike Visbeek (Performance Manager) Tweet